Deana Blanchard u. Chuck Stoppe Young - Gmunden Zyklus

Deana and Chuck have been making art together for over 34 years. The chance to come to Gmunden for this artist residency was so appealing and exciting we are honored to have been asked.

The opportunity to step out of our “normal” modes of working is a breath of fresh air for our sense of making art.

As we drew near to our time to come here, we had both a sense of trepidation and excitement. After being here for a few days, our minds kicked into high gear and the ideas began flowing. We both
wanted to step outside of what we have been making in the US and explore new ideas as well as revisiting ideas that have laid fallow for years.

Our process has and continues to be highly collaborative with each other. During the residency we have been each others best critic and cheerleader. Working with new materials outside of our
comfort zone has spurred us to make art that will influence our work for years to come. We are so excited about how the residency work has come together and are anticipating taking these ideas
back to our home studio to continue exploring these ideas, forms, and materials.

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In the past few years there has been a major shift in population leaving one area to head for more calm areas. The idea of borders has become more entrenched in “Populist” political arenas. While
we have no answers on how to make life better for native and immigrant populations, we are concerned in the rise of xenophobia in the world.

Much of our work during the residency references these borders and the persistence of people to face these borders to make a better life for themselves and their children. And even those these
are tough times and ideas, we wanted to approach this in a way which recognizes the beauty and persistence of these actions.